Ghosts and spirits in Maori culture

Last updated April 04, 2019

The topic of ghosts and spirits (kehua) in Māori culture is often considered a tapu subject, yet many Māori legends contain mentions of apparitions and paranormal occurrences. It is claimed that long deceased family members may appear to warn of upcoming danger, such as with the famous phantom canoe in 1886 that many reportedly saw on Lake Tarawera, that is believed to have been an omen for the volcanic eruption that occurred eleven days later.^[1]

In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.

A spirit is a supernatural being, often, but not exclusively, a non-physical entity; such as a ghost, fairy, or angel. The concepts of a person's spirit and soul, often also overlap, as both are either contrasted with or given ontological priority over the body and both are believed to survive bodily death in some religions, and "spirit" can also have the sense of "ghost", i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person. In English Bibles, "the Spirit", specifically denotes the Holy Spirit.

Māori culture culture of the Māori people of New Zealand

Māori culture (Māoritanga) is indigenous to New Zealand and originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture also forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture and is found throughout the world, due to a large diaspora and incorporation of motifs into popular culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori culture, the Māori suffix -tanga being roughly equivalent to the qualitative noun ending "-ness" in English.

In Māori mythology, taniwha are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers. They may be considered highly respected kaitiaki of people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings, which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.

Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha and are the sister group to the rays. However, the term "shark" has also been used for extinct members of the subclass Elasmobranchii outside the Selachimorpha, such as Cladoselache and Xenacanthus, as well as other Chondrichthyes such as the holocephalid eugenedontidans.

Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, usually excluding dolphins and porpoises. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have split apart around 34 million years ago. The whales comprise eight extant families: Balaenopteridae, Balaenidae, Cetotheriidae, Eschrichtiidae, Monodontidae, Physeteridae, Kogiidae, and Ziphiidae.

Death

Following a death, Māori custom requires the body of the dead be returned to its whānau (family) as soon as possible. The whānau is then called onto a marae for a tangihanga (funeral) to remove sadness and clear the spirits. The ghosts and spirits are called to join those who are already living in the afterlife. It is believed that if certain rituals are not conducted, the whānau of a dead person are likely to face stress and unhappiness and if the spirits are not satisfied, they may choose to take someone else.^[2]

A marae, malaʻe, meʻae, and malae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term also means "cleared, free of weeds, trees, etc". It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular, bordered with stones or wooden posts perhaps with terraces which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ahu or a'u. In the Rapa Nui culture of Easter Island ahu has become a synonym for the whole marae complex).

Sometimes, when a person was nearing death, beyond hope of further living, a procedure known as tuku wairua was traditionally performed by a tohunga priest, which helped the spirit leave the body so it would not become restless and wander. In modern times, a relative familiar with the procedure may perform the tuku wairua; however priests or ministers, generally Christian, may still be called to give the dying person a blessing. Many Māori people believe that the spirits of the dead watch over the living. For this reason, Māori families will hold unveiling services and blessings of gravestones of those who have been gone for a year or longer as a way of remembering and paying respects to those who have died.^[3]

Priest person authorized to lead the sacred rituals of a religion (for a minister use Q1423891)

A priest or priestess is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively.

Departing place of the spirits

Spirits Bay is considered a sacred place in Maori belief. Spiritsbay.jpg — Spirits Bay is considered a sacred place in Māori belief.

Spirits Bay, believed to be one of the most haunted spots in New Zealand and a famous spot for supernatural beings,^[4] is considered a sacred place in Māori culture because according to legend, spirits of the dead depart to their ancestral home (Hawaiki) ^[5] from a pōhutukawa tree at the tip of Cape Reinga. Upon reaching the tree, the spirits travel down a root to the sea below before uniting with their ancestors.^[1]

Spirits Bay, official name Piwhane/Spirits Bay, is an isolated bay at the end of the Aupouri Peninsula, near the northern tip of New Zealand's North Island.

The concept of the supernatural encompasses anything that is inexplicable by scientific understanding of the laws of nature but nevertheless argued by believers to exist. Examples include immaterial beings such as angels, gods and spirits, and claimed human abilities like magic, telekinesis and extrasensory perception.

In Polynesian mythology, Hawaiki is the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories.

Hilltop and forest spirits

In Māori traditional folklore, there were fairy folk and forest spirits. For instance, Maero is an evil fairy inhabiting forests in the South Island of New Zealand.^[1] Patupaiarehe are hilltop-living spiritual or otherworldly beings resembling humans in appearance. Turehu are pale-skinned ghostly people living in woodland areas.^[1]

A forest is a large area dominated by trees. Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and ecological function. According to the widely used Food and Agriculture Organization definition, forests covered 4 billion hectares (9.9×10⁹ acres) (15 million square miles) or approximately 30 percent of the world's land area in 2006.

The South Island, also officially named Te Waipounamu, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area; the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island. It has a temperate climate.

In Māori mythology, Patupaiarehe are pale spirit beings that live in deep forests and on mountaintops in New Zealand, and are sometimes hostile to humans. Ethereal flute music and singing sometimes reveals their presence. The flute music is used to lure in women. To rape and then murder them. After they go they are never heard or seen from again. According to legend.

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The Rātana movement is a church and pan-iwi political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana pā near Whanganui.

Hungry ghost is a concept in Chinese Buddhism, Chinese traditional religion, Vietnamese Buddhism and Vietnamese folk religion representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The term 餓鬼 èguǐ or quỷ đói, literally "hungry ghost", is the Chinese and Vietnamese translation of the term preta in Buddhism. "Hungry ghosts" play a role in Chinese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism and Taoism as well as in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religions. The term is not to be confused with the generic term for "ghost", 鬼 guǐ. The understanding is that all people become such a regular ghost when they die, and would then slowly weaken and eventually die a second time. Hungry ghosts, by contrast, are a much more exceptional case, and would only occur in very unfortunate circumstances, such as if a whole family were killed or when a family no longer venerated their ancestors.

Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua (Māori) is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia. State Highway 1 extends all the way to the cape, but until 2010 was unsealed gravel road for the last 19 km. Suitable vehicles can also travel much of the way via Ninety Mile Beach and Kauaeparaoa Stream stream bed.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Julie Miller; Grant Osborn (October 2005). Ghost Hunt: True New Zealand Ghost Stories. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-7900-1012-0 . Retrieved 16 January 2012.
↑ "Auckland Ghosts". NZGhosts.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
↑ "View topic-The Process of Maori mourning and grief at the time of death..." newzealandghosts.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
↑ New Zealand's spookiest stories - life-style | stuff.co.nz Retrieved January 2012
↑ Spirits Bay (Kapowairua) Retrieved January 2012

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[GhostHunt-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Julie Miller; Grant Osborn (October 2005). Ghost Hunt: True New Zealand Ghost Stories. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-7900-1012-0 . Retrieved 16 January 2012.

[2] "Auckland Ghosts". NZGhosts.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-01-16.

[3] "View topic-The Process of Maori mourning and grief at the time of death..." newzealandghosts.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2012-01-16.

[4] New Zealand's spookiest stories - life-style | stuff.co.nz Retrieved January 2012

[5] Spirits Bay (Kapowairua) Retrieved January 2012